The Falcon
by SRona58
Summary: Oneshot. Extended scene from my other story, "Episode IV S : The Rebel Retreat". Han Solo has lost the legendary Millennium Falcon to an Imperial soldier. Leia, not willing to admit her feelings for the smuggler, comes to care for him while he is most frustrated. Han/Leia - After ANH, before ESB.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is a one shot that I pulled from another story of mine, "Episode IV S : The Rebel Retreat", which is a full movie script written in the format of the original canon Star Wars book,** _ **From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker**_ **.**

 **I love the Han / Leia pairing and will never get enough of them! I've edited and extended the scene from the other story in order to pursue what could have happened if there was a move before the kiss in** _ **The Empire Strikes Back**_ **, the film.**

 **Read and review!**

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Clothes and other belongings were scattered across the room in Han Solo's personal bunk, located across from Chewie's room near the landing docks. He needed to make sure he could easily access the _Falcon_ , when he had it, anyway, so he demanded he would be allowed the closest bunk to the ship.

Han sat on the edge of his bunk with his forehead rested in his hands. His arms were supported by his knees. Ruffled hair fell in his face while his head was drooped, but he didn't care. All that was on his mind was the whereabouts of the _Falcon_. He still found it impossible that Chewie had allowed some Imperial scum steal it right out from under his watch. She had only been close to stolen once since he acquired her before he left Corellia, and that was when he had lost a bargain with Jabba the Hutt a few years back. He was able to keep her by promising him more money; more money that he never returned after rescuing the Princess and destroying the Death Star.

 _Face it,_ he thought to himself. _You might never see her again._

Solo's solemn thoughts about the loss of his ship were interrupted when the door slid open to his bunk. He looked up instantly and straightened up his body, afraid someone would catch him in his fragile state.

Before entering the room and coming closer to Solo, Leia closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She stepped in gracefully as she always did and made her way to Han's bunk. Standing before him, she tried to be as nice as she could. This time, there would be no banter. She truly felt bad for her...her...well, she could call him her friend.

"He didn't mean it, you know," Leia told Han softly.

Han stared up at her, silent. A mix of annoyance and sorrow filled his eyes, but she could tell he was doing all he could not to completely take it out on her. Still, it wasn't like him to not mess with her head, so he had to snap at her a little bit.

"Thanks, your Worship, but I don't need your sympathy," he spat back.

Leia kept a straight face and placed her hand on his shoulder.

"Han," she murmured.

He had never heard her voice so sincere since the celebration of the destruction of the Death Star. Still, it was different from then, too. In a way he did feel bad for how he treated her, but they could never cooperate without the help of Luke and Chewie.

Leia took a step closer but then Han shook her hand off of his shoulder and scowled.

"Don't," he ordered.

"What?" She was actually curious.

Solo looked at Leia with determination as she sat down on the bunk next to him. "Look," he told her and turned to face her. "I'll lose my life before I lose the _Falcon_."

"I know."

Han ignored her.

"Chewie might've lost her, but it's up to us to find her," he continued.

Leia shook her head and looked down at her knees. Then she smiled a bright, kind smile and faced Solo again.

"Han," she chuckled. She could tell her humor annoyed him, but she didn't care. "It's up to _all_ of us to find her," she informed him.

"All of us?" Solo questioned. "She's _my_ ship!" He was infuriated again. "I don't know where you got the idea that she belongs to you, Princess, but believe me-"

Leia silenced him with a roll of her eyes.

"Don't you give me that," he warned.

"Maybe if you took a second to not be such a self centered air head, you'd see that we're just trying to help!" Leia argued, raising her voice.

Han frowned in frustration. "We're? Oh, so now it's you _and_ Luke, is it?"

"Yes," Leia answered right off the bat.

Solo was tired of hearing about Luke from the Princess. Everything between them lead back to the Jedi in training. Perhaps they could get along better if she would concentrate on treating him like any other soldier in the Rebellion, instead of comparing him to her crush all the time.

Leia took his moment of quietness to try to soothe the matter again.

"We're your friends, Han," she told the Corellian softly.

" _I'm_ your friend," he clarified with a tone that pointed out he had taken Leia's comment about Luke to heart.

Not catching on, Leia replied with, "yes, you are."

He rolled his eyes and waved his hand in a dismissive gesture. Then, he stood from his bunk and paced the room. The waiting for information about his ship was going to drive him crazy if he sat any longer.

"You'll be lucky if these ships make it even a third of the way there," he told Leia, slowing until he stood against the wall by the door to his bunk.

Leia and Luke devised a plan to take the remaining fighter jets out to tackle the incoming fleet of Stormtroopers. While they were distracting the Imperial army, the others would take the Falcon and the Rebellion supplies to a planet across the galaxy, Naboo, to set up their next "secret" base. That was, when Han still _had_ the Falcon.

Solo reached behind him to play with the dirt that formed the walls of the bunk. He looked over Leia and waited for her reaction at his news. He didn't _want_ to be the downer, but it was the truth; the _Falcon_ was the only ship the rebels had that would make it across the galaxy without a pit stop.

"What do you suggest then?"

Leia stood as well, but stayed across the room from Solo.

He thought for a moment, then paused to ask her, "do we have time for a stop in the core?"

Leia thought for a moment, but answered quickly. "What did you have in mind?"

"Naboo is across the galaxy. I know a guy on Corellia who can get us a better ship," Solo told her.

"Corellia?" Leia repeated. "Your home, Corellia?" she specified.

The pilot nodded. "The guy who got me the _Falcon_ helped me fix her up. I owe him a couple favors, but I bet I could get him to help us out," he told her.

Leia stepped towards the door in a hurry, eager to give the others the order to set coordinates to the Corellian system. As she was reaching for the pad to allow her access out, Han pulled on her arm an turned her around to face him.

"Stop that," she ordered. "We're short on time here, or have you forgotten?"

"You sure you want to burst out there so soon, Princess?" Solo teased. "I'm sure we have a little bit of extra time..."

He smiled his half smile, crooked, but alluring. He couldn't let her go without attempting to charm her at least a little bit. Besides, he loved seeing her mad at him.

"Let go," Leia demanded.

But Han did the opposite. Instead, his grip tightened on her upper arm. He caught Leia blushing, but didn't comment on it.

"I think you like me keeping you in here," he teased.

"I think you've lost your mind!"

Leia was getting more and more irritated with every passing second, but part of her didn't want to leave, either. She almost liked it when Han gave her attention, but she would never admit to it.

Solo pulled Leia in and placed his hands on her shoulders, making her face him. She hated how he took advantage of her.

"I have to go," she insisted. Then she whispered, "please."

Leia dipped her head when she pleaded with him. Han thought for a second. She was obviously trying her best to leave without denying his accusations. In his mind, he had won, and that was enough.

"Okay, okay, your Highness." He let his hand go and lifted both arms in surrender while he flashed another smile. "But the offer expires as soon as you walk out of that door. I'll go back to being angry at Chewie, and you'll go back to...well..." As he trailed off, Solo leaned back up against the nearest wall, anticipating her next reply.

"What?" Leia asked, blinking. She was curious about what he thought of her. "Back to what?"

"Wishing you would've taken my offer when you had the chance."

Leia seemed to be contemplating what she wanted. Solo grinned. Even though he had had a rough day so far, getting the Princess to give in to him would start to make things a little better. He could hold it over her head for a long while.

Leia was back to annoyed. "What offer?"

"The one where I give you what you want."

Han's words left chills in Leia. His reply was both untrusting and appealing at the same time. Her blush deepened as she tried to push away the idea of his hands back on her...somewhere...anywhere...keeping her warm again.

"You have no idea what I want," Leia told him coolly.

A fire lit inside of Han. He had to prove her wrong. Smiling slyly, he took a step towards her again until she could feel his breath in her face. For a moment, she thought he wouldn't stop his increase, but then he scowled his usual bothered look. She waited for his sarcastic response.

"Easy, Princess," Solo warned "I know more than you think."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Leia told him, but she feared he could hear her racing heart that gave her away.

Han raised his eyebrows in a fake surprise. "No?"

Leia swallowed uncomfortably. "No," she whispered.

The smuggler leaned in closer until she could barely feel his nose brush against her cheek.

"Then why are you trembling?" he asked her kindly.

"Trembling?" Leia repeated.

Without warning, she pressed her hands against his chest in an attempt to push the pilot away. She succeeded for a moment, but wasn't ready for Solo to catch his stumble and lock onto her wrists so quickly. He pulled her in before she could even think about running and met her lips with his. He sensed her eyes were still open in shock, but his were closed. He knew she was confused, but the way she relaxed her body so her wrists went limp in his hands ensured him that her eyes had melted closed, as well. She was enjoying herself. He was right.

Finally, Leia blinked her eyes open and wandered into Han's bunker. She had been lost in a daydream...again.

Pushing her thoughts away, she attacked him instantly. "Can you pilot a ship?"


	2. AN

**A/N: Thank you all for the wonderful follows and comments on this story!**

 **I wanted to urge you all to read the full script that I'm currently writing called "Episode IV S : The Rebel Retreat" if you want to continue the story. I posted "The Falcon" as a short, one shot. It is an extended excerpt from the other story.**

 **May the force be with you!**


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